


dancing with myself

by Engineer104



Series: I Would Write 500 Words (and I Would Write 500 More) [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: A little, Angst, Any Route But Crimson Flower, Dancing, F/M, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Post-Canon, Weddings, because you know Seteth's there, not theirs though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:13:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22193854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Engineer104/pseuds/Engineer104
Summary: Manuela is sad and single at one of her students' wedding, but there's hope for her yet.
Relationships: Manuela Casagranda/Seteth
Series: I Would Write 500 Words (and I Would Write 500 More) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1591699
Comments: 8
Kudos: 53
Collections: Those Who Drabble in the Dark





	dancing with myself

**Author's Note:**

> For the Felannie Fever Discord prompt: “It’s time to dance”: write 200-500 words about dancing, going to a dance, asking someone to dance, learning/teaching dance, balls, festivals, dance competitions etc (as long as the etc is reasonably within the bounds of dance/dance related activities)
> 
> I chose Manuela/Seteth...because I love them and little prompts like these are perfect for writing pairs and characters I never have before. Anyway, hope you enjoy!!

Manuela should’ve expected the bevy of weddings that exploded in the wake of the war. It's always marriage and babies, not always in that order, and the announcement of each one left her more wanting of a drink than the last. _Young love is wasted on the young,_ she told Professor Byleth once in a fit of bitterness, and she meant every word.

It’s different now, she thinks, watching her old students marry after so much of their youth wasted on fighting. They’ve earned this hard-won peace for however long it lasts. But she can’t help observing it all with a tightness in her chest, her own bitter misdirected longing urging her to beg another glass of wine (or something stronger) from a servant.

When they toast to the newly wedded couple’s happiness and health, Manuela doesn’t hesitate to toss it all back.

“The world may change,” a voice she hasn’t heard in some time says, “but some things don’t.” Seteth sits in the chair beside her right as the musicians play a merry tune and the groom spins the laughing bride around in the center of the hall. His eyes, as captivating as the sea or arresting as an opera, land on her.

“Whatever could you mean, Seteth?” Manuela wonders, though from the way his gaze drifts to her empty glass she knows the answer.

Seteth sighs and reaches for her hand, the brush of his skin sending little tingles up her arm. He pries the glass from her fingers and sets it aside. “You were a songstress for the Mittelfrank Opera once, were you not?”

Manuela smiles, her heart lifting; no matter that she’s left that part of her past behind, it never ceases to delight her to speak of it…and with Seteth of all people. “You know I was,” she tells him, “though I wonder what that has to do with the world and its changes.”

He stands, so abruptly disappointment bites at her, until he offers her his hand. “Do you still recall how to dance?” he inquires with all the seriousness of a man that once served the Archbishop.

Her eyes widen, and her heart does a little jump that’s all too familiar…and all too rare these days. Color fills his cheeks - it’s an infrequent delight to observe Seteth so flustered - but his gaze is steady on her. Her own face warms in response - maybe she has a touch of youthfulness left in her after all - and she can’t help quipping, “I’m sure I can use a refresher, even from a saint like you.”

Manuela rests her hand on his, and for once she won’t blame the alcohol for the rush in her blood and the thrill riding under her skin.

The smile Seteth flashes her as he tugs her to her feet and towards the dancing fills her with the first spark of hope that her luck with love can change too.

**Author's Note:**

> Whose wedding is this, you ask? Heck if I know (though when I started writing I considered wink-wink, nudge-nudging ferdithea...another time, perhaps)
> 
> ~~also Seteth definitely had a mini-crisis when Manuela called him a saint hehe~~


End file.
